It's Not My Fault It Was Unlocked

Ok, you may be wondering - why did you go to work Alice? What sort of idiot are you? Well, my logic was that I was not losing my job today, and even though there were hundreds of warnings all over the news, my boss is a very uptight man and told the office we were to all still be at work like usual. So, like all the other robots I work with, I came in. The day was going pretty well, the snow wasn’t that heavy, work was easy-ish, and I had a good lunch. But then at 2, it all came down. Now, I’m stuck at work in a blizzard, with people who are so stuck up they won’t even talk to me. I’m not, never have been, and never will be, rich enough for them to notice me.

It’s been 5 hours since I was supposed to go home, and everyone is asleep - except for me. I rub my eyes with the tips of my fingers and pull the cuff of my jacket up a wee bit to check the time. The room is cold and damp and my jacket is definitely not able to keep me warm in temperatures as cold as this. Quietly, I stand up out of my crappy office chair and head to the loo. As I creep around the dark dodging the people lying on the floor, my shoes squeak quietly on the floorboards. I see the little “ Women’s “ sign illuminated on the bathroom door and twist the doorknob 90 degrees to the right, pushing ever so gently on the smooth wood as to suffocate any loud unwanted creeks coming from the hinges. When I’ve opened the door just enough to slip into the room, I shuffle in slowly and shut the door behind me. Crap. Where is the light switch? I place my right hand on the wall of the room and walk around cautiously, trying to find it - I was sure it was to the left of the door… I keep walking for what feels like forever and yet the wall has still not come to a light switch - or a corner even! The room is definitely not THIS big. Scared I’ve walked into the wrong room somehow, I turn 180 degrees and place my left hand on the wall instead. The wall is rough and cold on my hand as I walk back along the wall. The room is so dark I see no difference when I open or close my eyes. As I finally reach the door again, I place my right hand on the doorknob and turn it with more force than I intend, and the door swings out at full speed, crashing right into me. 

I stand up, brushing myself off, and walk out of the room. When I look back at the door, there is no longer a sign that says “Women’s” on it, the door is completely plain except for a sticky note that reads “ Do not enter “ I take a big step back and as I do, I land my foot in a slippery spot of liquid, causing me to fall back on my bum. Pain stabs in my lower back and head from the impact of the floor. 

As I'm looking up at the dark roof, unable to move out of fear and contemplating my life decisions, a figure moves into view above my face. It takes me a second, but I realise after studying him for a moment, that it’s my boss. He’s staring down at me through his big round glasses sitting precariously on the end of his nose, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips pursed in a thin line. 

“I was wondering where you’d gone off to...Alice.” He puts his hand down, out in front of my face. Shyly, I grab it and he pulls me off the floor with more strength than I expected, causing me to trip and fall into him a little. 

“ Thank you, “ I say. “ I hope I didn’t wake anyone.” He looks at me carefully for a moment, then smiles and says-

“ No, I'm sure you didn’t. “ He smiles too long, long enough for me to notice his teeth being stained a dark red. 

“ You’ve got a little something on your teeth sir,” I say politely, nodding towards his mouth. 

“ Oh I know dear, I know. “ He then spins me around slowly and faces me towards the rest of the room where everyone had been sleeping. 

“ I can’t see anything, “ I say. 

“ Here you go then poppet, “ He says as he shines a light on the bodies - the bodies that are definitely not sleeping. In the middle of the room, stacked in a pile, bodies drip bright red blood, painting the ground red. Stunned I just stand there, confused as all hell, my vision whirling and swirling. 

In a sudden burst of shock and energy, I spin out my boss’s grip and towards the door of the dark room again.

“NO!” He screams. “ DON’T YOU DARE GO IN THERE AGAIN!” I run at full speed into the door, the sticky note falling like a feather to the ground as I crash into the wood. I fiddle with the handle for longer than I’d like to but I manage to get the door open just as my boss turns up behind me. Knowing the room is bigger than I had originally imagined, I run blindly at full speed down the centre of the room away from whatever my boss is. As I'm running, I hear my boss calling out to me from the other end of the room. 

“ Aliiiceeeee….? Aaaaallliceeee? “ That is most certainly not his voice. I stop running and bend over, grabbing my knees to steady myself and catch my breath. 

“What if I turned the lights on Alice?” I hear the creature say.

“NO!” I scream with despair. “PLEASE NO!”

“But why not my lovely? Then I’d be able to see you.” 

I crumple into a ball on the ground, whimpering, and start shuffling backwards on my butt slowly.

“You were so tired dear, you walked into the wrong room! And when you came out, I couldn’t risk you telling everyone else what you’d seen, so I had to kill you, and them, just to be safe.”

“BUT I DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING!” I yell, my voice cracking with every second word.

“Sure you didn’t, sure honey.” 

His voice lingers on the last word and just as I stand up to run again, the light flicks on showing me how big the room truly is. 

My eyes take a second to adjust to the brightness, but when I hear a roar from behind me, I come to my senses much quicker. I spin around and stare at the beast in front of me - unsure as to what I’m looking at.  

“Never seen a yeti before I see….” My boss utters quietly. “I just needed a friend, and when all he asked was to be fed and have a home, I couldn’t resist my baby”

I stand, shivering, frozen on the spot as the beast roars again. 

“I SWEAR I WON’T TELL ANYONE!” I yell at my boss, tears streaming down my cold face. 

“NOT A SOUL!” I whimper.

“I know darling, I know, but he’s hungry, and so am I.”